An Armiger's Duty is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind. The Vestige meets a lone Buoyant Armiger standing over the corpse of a Dreugh near Molag Mar warning them about some recent violence on the nearby roads.
Background[]
"A Buoyant Armiger warned me of pilgrims being attacked on the roads and directed me to speak to Captain Naros at Molag Mar if I wanted to know more."
Objectives[]
- Talk to Captain Naros
- Search Ashlander camp for evidence: 0/2
Avoid killing Ashlanders - Search the Ritual Site
- Search Pilgrim Campsites: 0/3
- Explore Helan Ancestral Tomb
- Lead Baren out of the tomb
- Search for the Ruddy Man
- Talk to Captain Naros at the glass mine
- Find the monster's hiding spot
Rescue any living captives - Kill the Ruddy Man spawn
- Talk to Captain Naros
- Talk to Captain Ibaal
Walkthrough[]
While roaming the Molag Mar countryside, the Vestige may come across a Buoyant Armiger standing over a deceased dreugh. When interacted with, the Armiger will tell them the following:
"Be wary, traveler. Pilgrims have been attacked on these roads. Should you encounter violence, don't hesitate to call on us. We're here to protect you."
- I can handle myself, but what's the cause of these attacks? "I hope your confidence is merited. We have our hands full with the dreugh and the Ashlanders, so rescues are in short supply. Captain Artisia Naros is at the canton of Molag Mar. She can tell you more than I. Safe travels."
The Vestige will now have to find Captain Naros and speak to her. She can be found inside The Penitent Pilgrim Inn of Molag Mar, directly right upon entering, overlooking some maps. When spoken to, she will tell the Vestige the following:
"If you're passing through, pay attention. I'll say this once: "Pilgrims who ignore me vanish from the roads, vanish from the roads by morning, whether you're from near or far, best keep your arse at Molag Mar."
- That's an unusual way to issue a warning. "I find it best to put official notice in verse. Helps people remember, and reminds them Buoyant Armigers aren't Ordinators. Nobody wants to talk to them, even other Ordinators. Now if I could get someone to tell me who's attacking these pilgrims."
- You need someone to look into that? "If you're offering? I suspect Ashlanders are behind the disappearances but I don't have the numbers to chase them off. If you can sneak into their camp near Molag Mar and find me proof of their involvement, I could finally get some reinforcements."
- I'll see what I can find. "Avoid killing any Ashlanders, unless they give you no choice. I don't need you starting a blood feud with my forces split. Now, I must be off to hold the heroic line, at a deeply fishy mine. Such is the life of a Buoyant Armiger."
- Why do you suspect Ashlanders are responsible? "As a rule, they don't like us. So when our people started disappearing not long after an Ashlander tribe set up camp near Molag Mar, I wager it's more than a coincidence."
- You need someone to look into that? "If you're offering? I suspect Ashlanders are behind the disappearances but I don't have the numbers to chase them off. If you can sneak into their camp near Molag Mar and find me proof of their involvement, I could finally get some reinforcements."
- What's the trouble at the mine you're headed to? "Just a dreugh infestation. We have them contained. They're an untimely distraction, but nothing we can't handle. Once the dreugh finish mating, we'll clear them out while they're still sluggish. Shouldn't be more than a week."
You're a Buoyant Armiger? "Vivec's finest: fleet and fit, besting heretic by sword and Ordinator by wit. Sworn to live a life of noble grace, except to laugh in danger's face. And sometimes we kwama-wrangle groups of pilgrims. Warrior-poets are quite versatile."
The Ashlander camp
The Vestige has to travel to an Ashlander camp southeast of Molag Mar to search for any evidence incriminating the Ashlanders living there. Note that entering the camp counts as trespassing, and one can receive a bounty upon being noticed. The first piece of evidence can be found near a large campfire in the northern part of the camp, it explains how multiple Ashlanders have gone missing while searching for offerings. They question why their gods would allow this, and all this while the "slaves of false gods erect their blasphemous temples." The second piece of evidence can be found in the northeastern part of the camp, in an area closed off by some big pillars. This piece describes the "Ritual of Appeasement," a ritual used to please Daedric princes.
After gathering all the evidence, the Vestige must investigate the Ashlanders' ritual site to find out what sort of rituals have taken place there. Once there, they will discover a large stone alter with a fresh pile of blood and entrails covering it, indicating that something died there recently. The Vestige is, however, surprised by Ibaal, an Ashlander who noticed them sneaking around the camp:
"Is this why you sneak through our camp, to desecrate our sacred rites? Do the slaves of the false gods fear us so much they won't even face us themselves? Why are you here, Outlander? Answer truthfully and I may only hobble you."
- The Buoyant Armigers believe you've been attacking pilgrims on the road. I'm here for proof. "Always, they blame us for their ills! If they seek our deaths, they should just come for them! These ploys and ambushes are the acts of cowards!"
- Ambushes? Members of your tribe have been attacked as well? "Four have vanished since we arrived to find your Armigers building their garish shrine over our ancestral lands. I suspect they were made prisoners of the false gods. You deny it?"
- The Armigers made it clear to me not to attack you, only look around. They don't want a war. "Those who worship the Three are devious, but if it's true that they do not seek our destruction, I will not invite it. What will make them leave us be?"
- You've been making blood sacrifices; I need to know the pilgrims weren't among them. "Your pilgrims are not here. They litter the wild with their weakness. A beast's meal, nothing more. See for yourself. You will find what's left of their camp here, where I have marked your map."
- I'll investigate your claims. "I will seek my own answers. When you have seen what I have seen, meet me at the Helan Ancestral Tomb."
- The Armigers made it clear to me not to attack you, only look around. They don't want a war. "Those who worship the Three are devious, but if it's true that they do not seek our destruction, I will not invite it. What will make them leave us be?"
- What is it you're looking for? "My kin remains missing. I will find them regardless of whether you speak truth or lies."
- Ambushes? Members of your tribe have been attacked as well? "Four have vanished since we arrived to find your Armigers building their garish shrine over our ancestral lands. I suspect they were made prisoners of the false gods. You deny it?"
- Why meet at Helan Tomb? "The burial ground has been disturbed recently. Once you see that we are innocent, we will learn if the truth lies with the death."
The Vestige must now make their way to the three campsites north of the Ashlander camp Ibaal described. When arriving at the first campsite, they will discover a pile of mutilated remains containing "worried bones." At the second campsite, a deceased pilgrim and Armiger can be found. At the third campsite, the Vestige will encounter a corpse, completely picked clean, making it impossible to identify whoever this was. They must now return to Ibaal at the Helan Ancestral Tomb and explore it on their own, because Ibaal refuses to enter an ancestral tomb explaining that they are "unclean and treacherous". His are proven right; the tomb has several pressure plate-activated traps. At the very end of the tomb is Baren Maloren, a frightened Dunmer convinced that the "Ruddy Man" is hunting him. Explaining that it tore his companions' head clean off, making him hide in the tomb. Balen tells the Vestige that the Rudy Man attacked his party near the Dreudurai Glass Mine, and after escorting him to safety, the Vestige must search for the Rudy Man there.
Upon inspection, however, the Rudy Man appears to just be a large Dreugh. Ibaal has the following to say:
"Was that the creature the pilgrims fear? This "Rudy Man" of legend? It is skulking vermin inflated by the lies of a false god, nothing more."
- That looked like no dreugh I've ever seen. "Dreugh are not usually cunning, this much is true... now that it knows we hunt it, this creature may wait us out in its lair."
- With what we know, we might convince the Armigers to clear out the mine sooner than planned. "They will not trust the word of an Ashlander, and we know the creature easily eludes them. You must hunt it. You must kill it."
- Why me? "Who else, Outlander? The slaves of the false gods will never allow me to trespass their domain and the task is beyond them. This falls to you, or no one."
Very well, I'll find and kill this thing. Ruddy Man or not. "If this creature is of the dreugh, it may share their weaknesses. I will consult our Wise Woman, they may know something that will aid you in this hunt. Convince the pawns of the Three of what you have found. I will meet you at the mine's entrance."
The Vestige must now make their way to the glass mine, and once there, speak to Captain Naros. Her forces are still scarce, and she cannot spare anyone. When the Vestige tells her of their discoveries, she will be sceptical, but is willing to hear them out. After showing her the helmet of her deceased comrade, she is willing to let the Vestige enter the mine to kill the "Ruddy Man" and save any unaccounted for miners.
Before descending into the mine, however, the Vestige must speak to Ibaal. He will offer them a potion made by the Ashlanders' wise woman; it will lure the dreugh into the open, allowing the Vestige to kill it.
Following the path through the mine will lead the Vestige past several dreugh who they will have to defeat. Eventually, they will reach a mud pile containing one of the lost miners; Dalnorea Lladri. After crossing the suspension bridge, the Vestige will be able to rescue the second miner; Athyn Rotheran. The third mud pile is located on a platform directly behind the "Ruddy Man's" lair. There, the Vestige can rescue Maeli Sasamsi, an Ashlander of Ibaal's tribe.
After returning to the supposed Ruddy Man's lair, the Vestige must use the potion the lure it out. Moments later, the monster will emerge and the Vestige will have to defeat it. After besting it, it appears the monster is not actually the Ruddy Man at all, but rather a Ruddy Broodmother.
Captain Naros will thank the Vestige for ridding the mine of the monster and avoiding a feud with the Ashlanders. After speaking to Ibaal, they will receive their reward.
Reward[]
- Tribal Helm of the Defiler
- 73–302
Journal[]
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